The first 1000-foot-long ship built for Great Lakes service was Bethlehem Steel's Stewart J. Cort. It entered service in 1972. There were twelve more "footers" constructed over the next 9 years. Interlake's Paul R. Tregurtha was the last of this size built for use on the Great Lakes; and is also the largest ship ever built for Great Lakes service.

This page was updated on Aug. 24, 2006 with new photos to reflect the newest name changes for several of the 1000-footers: George A. Stinson became American Spirit in 2004, Columbia Star became American Century and Oglebay Norton became American Integrity in 2006.

The 1013-foot-6-inch-long Paul R. Tregurtha is a "traditional" all-cabins-aft "footer". It was built for Interlake Steamship Co. and is the largest ship ever built for Great Lakes Service (also the last of the 1000-foot-class of Great Lakes ships). It was launched as the William J. DeLancey, and due to its size and plush accomodations, quickly earned the nick-name "Fancy" DeLancey. It was re-named Paul R. Tregurtha in 1990.

The Stewart J. Cort was the very first 1000-foot-long ship built for the Great Lakes. The bow and stern sections were built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, while the 815-foot mid-section was built at Erie, Pennsylvania. The whole ship began service for Bethlehem Steel Co. in 1972.

The Presque Isle is unique on the Great Lakes. It is the only 1000-foot-long tug/barge unit in service. It was built in three sections by three different shipbuilding companies: The tug was built by Halter Marine Services in New Orleans, Louisiana; the bow-section of the barge was built by DeFoe Shipbuilding in Bay City, Michigan; and the stern-section of the barge was built by Erie Marine in Erie, Pennsylvania. It entered service in 1973.